By Krista Garcia June 18, 2002

Straddling southwest Brooklyn's Gowanus Expressway, Sunset Park serves as a working-class bridge between old-school Bay Ridge and white-collar Park Slope. Home to a bustling Chinatown, a booming Mexican community, and a growing number of out-priced brownstone-seekers, this quintessential melting pot was originally settled by Irish immigrants escaping famine. Poles and Scandinavians followed, and were succeeded by Chinese and Puerto Ricans, with lesser numbers from Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Jordan, and Vietnam. Thus, you'll catch glimpses of the odd kielbasa purveyor or halal butcher between omnipresent Spanish signage. In the summer, when many residents live out in the open, block parties, mariachi music, shaved ice, and pastel-hued cotton candy color... More >>>